


Take My Hand

by shions_heart



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Awkward Crush, Canon Compliant, Dermatillomania, Friendship, Gen, Hand Kink, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Non-Sexual Kink, Pre-Slash, Self-Harm
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-10
Updated: 2019-09-10
Packaged: 2020-10-13 21:36:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,622
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20589494
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shions_heart/pseuds/shions_heart
Summary: Hoshiumi Kourai isnotobsessed with Hirugami's hands.But would it kill the guy to take care of them a little better?





	Take My Hand

**Author's Note:**

  * For [AngieRoselli](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AngieRoselli/gifts).

> welp, this is me calling Angie out on their hand kink because this is entirely their fault and they need to take responsibility

Hoshiumi Kourai never thought much about hands, before. They’re a functional part of his body, and they serve him well in many capacities. He likes them as much as anyone likes any of their appendages, and he knows that without them he wouldn’t be able to do the things he wants. He definitely wouldn’t be able to receive or hit or serve a volleyball, so in that way they’re pretty important. But so are legs and feet and arms and, well, every other part of his body.

So, hands are important, but not particularly interesting or special.

Then he sees Hirugami Sachirou scrape his knuckles against a stone wall.

He reacts on instinct, grabbing his teammate’s bag and yanking him away. After talking some with his teammate and helping him (to the best of his ability at least) to understand that it’s okay to quit volleyball if he’s burnt out from it, he thinks that’ll be it. He’s glad to see Hirugami back on the court and seemingly more relaxed, but he keeps glancing at Hirugami’s hands out of the corner of his eye every now and then, to check for any new wounds or bruises not related to volleyball.

He’s not . . . _obsessed_ with them or anything. That’d be weird. But he finds he can generally get a feel for Hirugami’s state of mind by how his hands look. Are they redder than they should be? Is the skin around his fingers picked to bleeding? Are there any new scabs on his knuckles or cuts that should be healing but aren’t?

On good days, Hirugami’s hands are fine. They’re not any worse for wear than they would normally be on a middle blocker. Kourai finds that on those days he breathes easier, laughs and jokes with his teammates without a care in the world.

But when he sees those bloodied scabs, the raw picked skin, he finds that his temper is much shorter, and his chest feels tight.

“You kinda need those to be in good shape for when you play, ya know,” he says casually one day, watching Hirugami carefully wrap some tape around his fingers during practice.

Hirugami grins and holds up his taped fingers. “Am I just wearing these for show, then?” he teases.

Kourai feels heat rush to his face. Hirugami’s gotten a lot more relaxed since that day, but he shouldn’t be making a joke of it!

“That’s not what I mean and you know it, asshole!” he snaps.

Hirugami waves him off. “Pretty sure you got better things to worry about.”

Kourai purses his lips, not wanting to admit that he finds the condition of Hirugami’s hands pretty fucking important, considering. In the end, he simply storms away to practice his serves and refuses to check on Hirugami’s hands for the rest of the day.

Except he can’t help but glance at them before he leaves, watching for a moment as Hirugami carefully peels off the tape and flexes his fingers. They seem fine, no new indications of stress or anxiety, so Kourai turns and walks out of the locker room briskly, the evening air cooling his warm cheeks.

He tries not to think about it. He really does. Volleyball takes up a fairly large space in his mind, and there’s his homework to consider and new ways to bother Akitomo. He doesn’t have space for much else.

Except stupid Hirugami and his stupid hands continue to somehow invade his thoughts, sometimes at the worst possible moments, like in the middle of a test or while he’s trying to sleep. He finds himself wondering if Hirugami’s picking at his fingers again or scratching at a scab or scraping his knuckles against anything, and his eyes go straight to Hirugami’s hands the second he enters the locker room before practice. It’s _irritating_.

He tells himself he’s going to stop. Hirugami’s _fine_. He’s playing well and doesn’t seem to get as hung up on his mistakes as before. His hands function normally, and that’s the most important thing, right? He’s doing his job as a middle blocker, and Kourai doesn’t need to worry about anything else.

Then he’ll catch a glimpse of some dried blood around Hirugami’s nails or a freshly picked scab across his knuckles, and his chest seizes up, and he goes through the cycle all over again.

“You’re so annoying,” Kourai gripes, stopping by Hirugami, as the younger guy sits on the floor by the gym door, carefully applying a new band-aid to his knuckle.

Hirugami glances up at him with a curious smile. “How’s that?”

Kourai drops to the floor beside him, tucking the volleyball he holds into his lap, as he sits cross-legged. “You’re not even applying any antibiotic! It’s like you _want_ these to get infected. Give me that.”

He snatches the band-aid from Hirugami, laying it sticky-side up across his knee before pulling the first-aid kit closer to rummage through it. Hirugami says nothing, as Kourai finds some antibiotic, grumbling under his breath as he grabs Hirugami’s hand next and carefully applies the ointment to the open scabs.

“You’re being stupid, you know,” he says matter-a-factly, eyes on his work as he gently lays the band-aid across it.

“Am I?” Hirugami sounds almost disinterested, and Kourai bristles.

“Yes! You don’t like making mistakes, but what do you think is gonna happen if you have busted up hands?! All of us have to take care of ourselves so we’ll be able to keep playing. You stayed on the team even after I told you it was okay to quit, so obviously you _want_ to keep playing. So cut this shit out!”

He finishes and tosses Hirugami’s hand into the guy’s lap, refusing to look at it any longer, as he starts packing things back into the first-aid kit.

“I don’t even realize I’m doing it half the time,” Hirugami admits quietly after a moment.

Kourai glances toward him skeptically, and heat flares across his cheeks, as he sees Hirugami watching him with a tiny smirk.

“It’s sweet of you to care, though,” he says.

“I don’t!” Kourai exclaims, grabbing the volleyball in his lap and scrambling to his feet.

Hirugami’s expression doesn’t change, which is irritating. “You’re contradicting yourself,” he says, waving his now treated hand in front of his face.

“Whatever!”

Kourai hurries away, his face feeling much too hot. He busies himself with practicing receives and absolutely does _not_ look Hirugami’s way at any point during his time on the court.

***

They lose their next away match. It stings, especially since they came so close to winning, only to fall behind in the final set. The bus ride back to Kamomedai is silent save for a few sniffles here and there. Kourai sits down in the seat beside Hirugami, just because. No particular reason. But he just so happens to glance down and see the way Hirugami’s nails are digging into the side of his fingers, scraping into his callouses and picking away.

Kourai reacts on instinct. Gritting his teeth, he reaches over and shoves his hand in-between Hirugami’s, gripping his fingers firmly to shield them from the attacking nails. He keeps his gaze forward, not about to explain himself or catch Hirugami looking at him in any weird way. This isn’t weird. He’s just looking out for his team, like any good ace would.

Hirugami grows still beside him, but he doesn’t say anything either. After a moment, Kourai can feel the tension in his hands ease, his fingers no longer laying so stiffly against Kourai’s. At this point, Kourai knows he can probably pull away and Hirugami will be fine. But there’s always the chance that he’ll go right back to picking, even unconsciously. To avoid that, he doesn’t relax his grip, not even when Hirugami shifts just enough to slowly lace his fingers through Kourai’s.

His neck and ears feel extremely hot, but he hunches down into the popped collar of his uniform jacket and keeps his gaze ahead. He replays the game in his mind, going over each play and how he can practice to perform better next time. He doesn’t think about the hand in his, or the way Hirugami starts absently rubbing his thumb against the back of Kourai’s. It sends shivers down his spine, but he absolutely does not think about it.

They remain like that the entire ride back, and when they park outside the school, Kourai quickly pulls his hand away to grab his bag and push his way out the front of the bus. His hand tingles from the lack of warmth, and he flexes it absently. Hirugami’s palm had grown sweaty after a while . . . or maybe that’d been his. He’s not sure, but he rubs his palm absently against his thigh to dry it.

Kourai doesn’t look Hirugami’s way during the coach’s speech in the locker room, and as the team gets changed afterwards, he ignores Hirugami’s presence next to his. He places his volleyball shoes into his locker, grabbing his street ones and sitting down to put them on, focusing on his own fingers as he ties the laces. When he stands, Hirugami’s blocking his path, but he pushes by without excusing himself.

Fingers brush against the back of his hand, and he freezes in place, as Hirugami’s voice comes toward him softly.

“Thanks, Kourai-kun.”

“Whatever.” Kourai shrugs, pulling away and scratching at the new itch on his hand. “Don’t do anything stupid tonight. You played good, and we’ll practice what we missed.”

“Roger that.” Hirugami sounds amused.

Lifting his chin, Kourai stalks out of the locker room, refusing to look back.

The next day, Hirugami’s hands are fine, and Kourai definitely doesn’t think about them.

Definitely not.

**Author's Note:**

> as someone who suffers from dermatillomania due to anxiety, I relate to Hirugami's struggles so much ;;; 
> 
> we seriously need more fics of these two. like, seriously.
> 
> https://shions-heart.tumblr.com/


End file.
